Israel began vaccinating teenagers between the ages of 12 and 15 on Sunday, a population that includes about 600,000 Israelis.

In the first stage of the campaign, only teens who are at a high risk of developing severe COVID, teens living with family members who are at high risk of developing COVID, and teens in families who are planning to travel abroad, will be vaccinated.

Teens who do not fall into the above groups can get vaccinated if they wish but the Health Ministry is not urging teens to vaccinate in light of the pandemic’s drastic decline nationwide.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced on Sunday afternoon that the requirement to wear a mask indoors will be lifted next Tuesday if the infection rate remains low. There were no new coronavirus cases reported in Israel on Sunday and just four new cases confirmed over Shabbos.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu published a video on his Twitter account on Sunday of Pfizer CEO Albert Burla speaking about Israel’s wildly successful vaccination campaign.

מנכ"ל פייזר אלברט בורלא בטקס ההוקרה לאנשי מערכת הבריאות ולגופים השותפים על תרומתם למאבק בנגיף הקורונה:
"בדומה לחברות רבות בעולם בתחום מדעי החיים, פייזר עבדה בשיתוף פעולה עם ממשלות רבות ברחבי העולם על מנת להילחם במגפה הזו. אך אין מקום שבו שיתוף הפעולה הזה היה יעיל יותר מאשר בישראל pic.twitter.com/j6nIDUQ9NI

— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) June 6, 2021

“Pfizer has cooperated with many governments around this world to fight his pandemic. but nowhere has this cooperation been more effective than Israel,” Bourla said. “Israel has done the most amazing job in mobilizing their healthcare system and delivering the most successful vaccination campaign in the world. I was always impressed by the high standards of Israel’s healthcare system and the high quality of Israel’s medical staff, doctors, nurses and other professionals.

“During my discussions with the Israeli government, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convinced me that Israel would be the ideal place to demonstrate to the world what a fast vaccination campaign can achieve. But what Israel was able to eventually able to achieve exceeded all my expectations.”

“To date, 57% of the Israeli population has been fully vaccinated. And recently published real world data from Israel suggest that in its first 120 days, the country’s vaccination program with our vaccine prevented approximately 159,000 infections, 25,000 hospitalizations, and 5,500 deaths.”

“While obviously caution should be used in extrapolating to other countries, these findings are demonstrating to the entire world the impact that a well-run vaccination campaign can have in reducing human pain. Israel should be very proud of being the leading nation in the world against COVID and Pfizer is very proud of our contribution to your achievements.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)